For Lycans, Press One

Chapter 3: The Callisto Pros

The next day at work, I'm wearing my pencil skirt and the only dress top that still looked like it belonged in this decade.

I didn't bother with makeup or doing my hair because I had stayed up too late reading my new book. I kept imagining the super-spy female counterpart of the protagonist had Roxy's voice, which I'll never admit to anyone.

“Ready to meet our new corporate overlords?" Alyssa asks next to me, her lipstick today is a 90s grunge brown.

I'm envious of how put-together she usually looks, but I know her morning routine must take a while and I count washing my face and putting on sunscreen a success.

“Old boss, same as the new boss," I reply because really, the rich are just in another world than we are.

“If some hotshot shifter from NBC thinks they're gonna just pull rank on us, then he's got another thing coming. So what if he's the alpha of one of the top Jupiter packs? He's from some no-name family," Paul says, his face pulled into a sneer like he just smelled something rotten.

Pack names are titles, just like in those mafioso movies. Family by loyalty and oath, not by blood necessarily. Both Paul and D'Angelo belong to the Phoebe pack, but they're in no way related by blood.

“Jupiter? What does space have to do with it? Is your Mercury in retrograde, just like your brain?" Alyssa asked.

“What does that even—Thank you for calling…" Paul got cut off by a customer calling in and D'Angelo turned around.

“Most packs are named after moons. The bigger the pack, the bigger the moon they're named after. Our pack is named after Saturn's moon, Phoebe, but our new CEO's pack is named after one of Jupiter's biggest moons. They're rollin' in the green." D'Angelo loosens his tie a bit.

I remember Donovan mentioned once in the gym after school his family was in a Jupiter pack. Donovan and his younger brother Cameron never wore designer clothes, and their father drove an old Dodge, so he's probably in a smaller pack too.

I wonder what he's doing now. He probably isn't packing a lunch and leaving it on the counter like yours truly.

“Oh… Well, if this guy's a millionaire, then he's gonna take us on an ego trip. Glad I updated my resume." Alyssa scrunched her nose at her nails.

If Alyssa jumps ship, I'd be tempted to follow.

“Alright everyone, log out of the phones, our new CEO and COO just arrived. Let's go out there and show them the 'Centerburg Hospitality' we all know and love." Jeff must be running for biggest brown-noser of the century.

I make a gagging noise as I log out and Alyssa laughs. We abandon Paul to his customer berating him and go out to the bank lobby.

“Now remember, both brothers said they don't want any videos or pictures!" Jeff turns mid-step like a chaperone on a field trip.

Just how stuck up were these guys that they actually thought we'd snap photos of them? A few of my co-workers put away their phones with a huff. Okay, maybe I really did miss something.

“Alyssa, are these guys really that big of a deal?" I whisper as we enter the lobby.

The lobby isn't much, since we are just a small local bank. It has typical big bright windows with dusty Venetian blinds and a furnished foyer with blue benches that need reupholstering.

I see the two big black SUVs out front through the smudged windows first. This feels like an action movie where the president comes out.

“They're known as 'the Callisto Pros'. They're supposed to be hot, but I don't go for business bros." Alyssa shrugs, and that sparks my memory.

The slap of skin against hollow leather, my sweaty knee pads stuck to my skin. Donovan gives me a thumbs up when my spike lands in bounds. He doesn't even play volleyball, but he helped me because he was skipping extra prep classes.

He had said his father forced them on him so he could be the future alpha of the Callisto pack.

My heart skips a beat.

“There's no way," I blurt out as two bodyguards open the metal and glass doors for the two executives behind them.

The pheromones that scratch my nose tell me that they're far higher up than any Shifter I've met before.

A tall man with dark skin, close-cropped hair, a square jaw, and large dark eyes dressed in a gray designer suit and a dark purple tie enters the lobby.

My jaw drops.

His toned muscles fill out the suit perfectly and he strides with confidence and authority. Gone is the gangly string-bean with braids who would get nervous answering a question in AP history class.

Instead, in his place is a confident alpha.

My unrequited high school crush, Donovan Davis, is now my boss.

He flashes a wide smile as he shakes some other manager's hand before Jeff, which flusters our brown-nosing manager. He's soon surrounded by all the other department managers.

“Wait, do you know him?" Alyssa asks nder her breath.

She must be paying more attention to me than I thought. I cross my arms and grip myself to stop my hands from trembling. I try to duck behind D'Angelo so that Donovan can't see my sleep-deprived face. Donovan may recognize me, but he's definitely moved on.

“I went to high school with him. I doubt he even remembers me; it's been like six years," I say, trying to downplay my reaction.

Donovan's younger brother, Cameron, stands with his hands in his pockets wearing a blue suit and a black tie with his sunglasses resting on his cornrows. Cam's tense jaw and downcast glare suggest that he'd rather be anywhere else.

I never knew Cam particularly well, but I remember when he entered a room, he'd c***k a great joke and befriend everyone there. It almost seems like both of their personalities have done a complete 180.

“They're both hot, even the hungover one. They even give my new boy a run for his money," Alyssa admits.

My mouth dries out as Donovan steps forward and waves. I should look away, but I don't.

“Hello everyone. I'm Donovan Davis Callisto, your new CEO of Centerburg Bank and Credit and I'm happy to…" he trails off when his dark eyes finally land on mine.

Time stops for just the briefest of moments, and my stomach flips.

“...also introduce my brother, Cameron Davis Callisto as your new COO. Before you worry, yes, we will keep every one of you wonderful workers on, and we are even looking in the future to expand, so if you know anyone who is looking for a job, we can give you a referral bonus."

“Oh, he definitely remembers you, Mack. I'd need a machete to cut that tension," Alyssa whispers.

My mind washes out to static.

What will he think of me being stuck in this job compared to what he's doing? What am I to him anymore? Did he ever think of me when he went off to college?

Why didn't I at least put on eyeliner and mascara today?

Everyone around me begins to clap, but I have no idea what he had just said. I'm just glad we can go because I need air.

On autopilot, I dart straight to the bathroom and click the furthest bathroom stall door shut. My elbows indent my knees as I stare down at my shoes.

Donovan is back, and he saw me looking like I slept in a dumpster fire.

The boy who used to sit next to me at lunch when all my friends would fight and not speak to me. The boy who taught me algebra and to who I explained Wuthering Heights. The boy who told me that he'd text me every day while at college in NBC and didn't even text me once.

My heart twists into a snarled, wrung-out rag.

“I'm so stupid. What do I do now?" I whisper, void thick and wet into my lap.

“Mack, you ok?" Alyssa asks.

She must have snuck into the bathroom like a ninja.

“I'm good, just my period," I reply, hoping she doesn't hear the wetness of my voice.

There's a pause.

“Look, I know we're not super tight, but you can talk to me," Alyssa offers, and I appreciate it, really.

But this is a big deal, and up until two weeks ago, I didn't even know that Alyssa had never been camping or hiking. I can't talk about this with someone I hardly know anything about, and who doesn't know anything about me besides what donuts I eat.

“I'm good. Please just tell Jeff I'll be out in a minute," I answer, tearing off a long stream of 1-ply to make a point.

“...Alright." I hear the door close.

I take a few more deep breaths, pad my face dry, and leave the stall. My reflection leaves much to be desired – puffy eyes and swollen nose is not a cute look. I guess now it's a good thing I didn't put on makeup.

I leave the bathroom and step face-to-face with none other than Donovan, his bodyguard, and Jeff.

We both freeze, eyes locking.

“Hey, Miss Stewart. How've you been?" he asks, his voice sounding rehearsed.

Miss Stewart? Seriously?!

He left to go to NBC, promised me in the gazebo in the park next to my parent's house that we'd always be friends, but didn't even bother to follow me on Shiftagram.

He'd know if he ever bothered to ask!

He'd know about my dad's disability. He'd know that I stayed behind to help my parents while muddling my way through a community college associate degree while everyone else went off to university. I want to tell him to get lost and ask him how he's doing at the same time.

But he's my boss, and Jeff is right there, looking like he wants to throttle me.

It's just not fair that he looks so put together, and I look like I either cried my eyes out in the bathroom, hotboxed a car or had an allergy attack.

Oh, allergies, good excuse!

“Doing great except for my allergies, Mr. Callisto." I forcibly tug my lips into my 'let's get this family photo over' smile.

“Mackenzie here has been with CBC for a little over a year now and has great promise, in part to the rigorous continuous training that I implemented of course." Jeff preens like a peacock, and I nod with tight lips.

“Mackenzie, I'd lo–"

I cut Donovan off. He doesn't get to ask anything of me right now.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Callisto, I should get back to my desk and you both look terribly busy. By the way, welcome to Centerburg," I say to Donovan, taking every ounce of courage I feel to look him directly in the eyes.

With my Lycan hearing, I hear a man chuckle from down the hall, behind where I was.

“About time she shut you down. Serves you right for taking us back here."

I recognize the voice as Cam's, and I'm surprised he's on my side. My heart is still drumming in my neck like when I shift.

I get back to my desk, and Alyssa and everyone else are on a call. I cheekily take out my phone really quick before Jeff can get back because I have to text Hannah about this.

However, on my lock screen is a 'Lycan Alert'.

Could this day get any worse?